Tutorial: Punny Dad's Day Cards

I don't know about you, but I can never find the perfect gift.  That's why I started making things.  I can make exactly what I want to give as a gift.  And this year, I wanted to give my dad a pun.  (Stay with me here...)

I love making cards, and since I usually get my dad a coin for his collection, or a gift card, I always need a card to put it in.  My father and I have the same sense of humor, so who better to write a card that he would enjoy?

I wanted to make something that was cute, but had my personality. So I made these origami shirt cards.  They are pretty fast, and cute.  And you can personalize them with puns (if you so desire.)

So here is a tutorial, step-by-step folding to create your own pun-backdrop.

First, cut your paper to a rectangle measuring 14cm x 7cm

Fold in half lengthwise to crease the paper down the center.  Open it flat again.

Fold the edges of the rectangle in towards the center crease.

Do this for the other side.

Now you should have a thinner rectangle.  Fold in the corners of one side like in the picture:

And fold over the point.  Crease these fold well, as they help you with the valley fold coming up.

Open the folds again. If it is not creased well, fold it again so that the crease is well-folded.

This is the trickiest part; pinch the corners of each side so that  they meet.

Then flatten out that section.  These are the sleeves.

 

Turn over to the front side.  Fold up a 1 cm flap from the bottom on the right side.  Turn over to the back side again.

Fold in one corner of the bottom of the shirt and fold on a diagonal to the sleeves. 

Repeat for the other edge of the bottom.  This will be the collar, so its not important that they meet in the middle.

Next, you are going to fold it in half.   Bend the whole thing in half and adjust so that the collar is above the "shoulders" of the shirt.

Then crease it well.

Voila!  An Origami shirt!

You can do all sorts of things with these to make little gifts.  I made a little plaque using some leftover matte from a framing shop:

I turned another one into a magnet by attaching some magnetic strip to the back:

Or you can make a card with a terrific pun on it:

I love a good pun. I know what you are thinking; "But Steph, won't your dad see his card before you give it to him?  Wouldn't that spoil the surprise?"

Not really.  My dad couldn't find the internet if you drew him a map.  I asked him to shut down my computer once, and he unplugged it from the wall.

Enjoy!  If you make one, link up so I can see!